Behind the Lavender Dress
by the.luxe.interim
Summary: She's just started her life outside of Hogwarts. He's one of the wizarding world's most eligible bachelors. She's always had a crush on him, but she's too stubborn to admit it. He knows she likes him, and he likes her back, but he can't admit it.


Hey, everybody. This is a new fanfic that I'm currently writing and I hope you all enjoy it. Basically, it's Katie and Oliver and it's right after Hogwarts. It's sort of based off the movie 27 Dresses, if anybody has seen it. Oh, and it's in Katie's point of view. And according to Harry Potter Wiki, Luna marries a guy named Rolf, but let's just assume that she marries Neville, kay? So, here it is, enjoy, and don't forget to comment!

_Up. Down. Up Down. Up Down._ The fitness woman looked down at me as I continued with my push ups. "Up. Down. Up Down. Up Down. "Why can't you be synchronized with my voice?!" she said frustrated at my lack of natural agility. She was the devil. She was the spawn of Satan. She was that horrible third grade teacher you had back in elementary school. She is physical trainer.

If it wasn't for my sudden realization about two weeks ago that I needed to start getting my butt off the sofa and into a gym, I probably would never have to see her face in my life. Unfortunately, the epiphany came when my two best friends Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet asked me to go for a _quick _and _light_ jog around the city. Unfortunately, I never thought about how unfit I was. We had all played quidditch back at Hogwarts and I thought that they, like me, never bothered to actually lift a finger after graduation. However, I was wrong. Both girls had gone maybe a mile ahead of me when I practically collapsed in front of a frozen yogurt shop with an asthma attack. That's when I suddenly realized that I definitely had to start doing something… and _soon_. So, I got a physical trainer at the gym close to by apartment and started going. It was alright at first. My fitness instructor, Olga (except it should be _Ogre_), put me on some light weights and a light jog for the first couple of days. But then, all of the sudden, she suddenly decided that I had to start increasing my reps and my diligence to the gym. Hence, I am here, doing my five thousandth (okay, maybe hundredth) push up in front of the Ogre to see as she stares down at me with her menacing black eyes… you know, kind of like Snape when he got mad at one of the Weasley twins.

So, anyways, I'm currently living in the city right now, and believe me, I'm in love with it. Except, of course, that I wasn't sure what to do right after graduation. I loved to write, so I decided to take a job as a reporter. Something temporary, nothing long term, just until I decide what else to do with my life. I could try out for a quidditch team, but I wasn't really sure how and why I would do that. I love quidditch, don't get me wrong, but unless you're Oliver Wood, you're not meant for it. Which brings me back to Oliver Wood.

Oliver Wood was everything you could find in a boy. But, like every other Greek God, he had one flaw: his disgusting, ABSURD, PSYCHOTIC love for quidditch. It was practically unhealthy. Since he has graduated (and he's two years older than I am, mind you), we have not spoken. I have read about him in magazines every now and then- as the headline goes: **Puddlemere's Best Keeper Is Still Looking for Love** or something outrageous like that. I don't know. I haven't covered him, but I'm not sure if I really want to.

You see, my job as a temporary journalist is to cover weddings. I write star-like reports a about people's weddings and I write things such as "the moon glittered underneath the romantic couple dancing to the song of their lives" and other bullcrap like that. It's actually that kind of stuff, though, that makes women swoon, I swear. I've been to so many weddings and I've seen so many things happen, I'm honestly not sure what I think of when someone says the word "love." I've seen get togethers at weddings, break ups, heartwarming kisses, etc etc, but there's so much to see, you never really know what's going to happen. Honestly, I'm afraid of love. Love is something that kind of just takes control of you and doesn't let you go until something happens that is even more Earth-shattering than that. Kind of like Voldemort, you know?

Anyways, it's a Sunday night and my trainer has just told me that I can leave. Thank god.

I'm now getting dressed in my apartment to go out to a wedding. It's some quidditch player's wedding and he's evidently marrying some gross bimbo. I now have to write something like "His eyes glittered with glistening tears as he looked down at his new immortal beloved." BLEH. I can already tell that I'm going to puke. I put on a light lavender strapless dress that I recently bought at the department store. Evidently, the whole journalism thing? Yea, it doesn't pay well. Another problem I have: OSD aka Obsessive Shopping Disorder. I love to buy things. That's why my apartment is stocked with lovely furniture in dark brown colors that match the dark wall colors. My clothes are all neatly arranged and everything is accessible. But I do love shopping. I even have my own closet where I put all the dresses that I wear when I attend a wedding for a story. I tie a black belt around my waist to add as an accessory and then I put on some pearls and head out to grab a taxi.

"Where to, miss?" the taxi driver asks me as I put a couple shillings in his hands. I gave him the name of the hotel I was going to, made sure my expensive handbag and dress were safely tucked near me in the cab, and leaned against the seat. "What do you do?" he asked. I mumbled something close to "writer" as I flipped through my organizer. AHH! I knew I was forgetting something. I had to cover _two_ weddings tonight, not just one! DAMN!

"Sorry, Mr… Cab person, but, can you please drive back to my apartment?" I pleaded. He looked at me in the window. "Are you sure?" "I'm positive." He turned back and I ran out with my keys. I grabbed another dress I was going to wear: a hot pink dress with black shoes and ran back out into the car. Damn, I'm practically late. "Okay, here's the deal. I'll pay you 300 galleons if you cab for me the entire night. I have to cover two weddings in one night, but I will have to change in the cab. If you look, I'm immediately deducting 20 galleons each time I catch you, do you understand?" I almost yelled. He nodded his head and paused. We sat in silence for about 20 seconds.

"Oh, wait. You're the wedding girl! I know you! My wife loves to read your little stories!" he cried with delight looking at me. I nervously smiled and chucked. "Thanks."

I happily walked into the reception area, steno in hand, camera attached to my neck.

"Oh, good, you're here, you're here," a voice said with delight. I turned around. There was a blonde girl in a wedding dress gleefully smiling at me. "Hi, I'm… oh! I know you! We want to Hogwarts together didn't we?" I suddenly recognized the girl. It was Luna Lovegood! She was wearing a bright green wedding dress with little dainty black shoes. She looked exactly the same, and she even had the same calm, high-pitched voice as before.

"Yes, Luna, I remember you. I'm Katie Bell, reporter. I guess I'm covering your wedding," I said smiling at her. I couldn't believe it. SHE was getting married BEFORE me? _WOW_. Either she's getting married young, or I'm way behind on the dating train. Maybe a little bit of both.

"Yes, I remember you. Come, come. I want to show you the feeding area. We have some animals that Hagrid was able to help us with. One of the activities is having the guests feed them 4 pounds of meat, each. It's supposed to bring Neville and I luck when… you know… we want little ones," she said quietly to me as she took my hand and walked me down a long hallway. I tried not to question the comment she just gave me. It was just a little too much information.

All of the sudden, out of nowhere, popped a little chubby looking boy with bad teeth. It was Neville. "Oh, the reporter is here, Luna? Excellent, excellent. Oh… you're Katie Bell! I remember you!" I smiled politely at him. Yes, yes, I said looking behind him taking pictures of the strange creatures that the guests were cautiously feeding. It didn't look safe to me. Each guests stood barely 20 feet from the creature and threw the rather large pieces of meat at the animals like a horseshoe game. The animals (whatever they were) gobbled up the pieces of meat immediately as the guests moved on to the dining area where _they_ were able to eat freely.

All of the sudden, my cell phone (conveniently located inside my bra) began vibrating. "Err… I think your chest is moving," Neville said looking down at it. My face grew red and I grabbed it and looked at it. It was my alarm, telling me it was time to move to the other party. "I'll be back in about an hour in time for the speeches. Excuse me," I said turning around and leaving their party as quickly as I can. It was rather strange as I turned back around, almost at the end. Neville and Luna were turned around, her head tilted on his shoulder and his head leaning down on hers. All I have to say is, it is a strange little wizarding world out here.

"Next stop?" the driver asked me. I finally learned that his name is Stanley. I gave him the directions, "and remember: no peeking." I grabbed the next dress that was hanging on the hand rail of the cab and I began to change. I looked up for a mere second, trying to put my dress on as Stanley made a sharp turn. "Sorry," he said looking in the mirror back at my disheveled hair and half put on dress.

"Hey, you looked!" I said. "Twenty galleons, no questions."

"I was just apologizing-"

"No questions asked. And definitely no complaints."

"Fine."

"Good."

I arrived at the next party, only five minutes late. The venue was HUGE. It was almost as big as Hogwarts. I walked into the grand dining room to see that people had already begun eating. It looked as though they were almost finished. "Are you Katie Bell?"

I turned around to see a gorgeous dark haired girl with blue eyes looking back at me. She was rather short, but her physique was amazing- you know, the kind that didn't collapse after only 14 minutes of jogging around the city. "Isabella," she said shaking my hand. "You're here to cover my wedding."

"Hello, Isabella. How is it coming along? Congratulations, by the way." We went over the logistics. The theme was "magic" and the dance floor would be open soon. "I unfortunately cannot find my husband right now. I'm sure he's with the rest of his friends from the team somewhere." She shrugged and looked at me.

"What team does he play for? I used to play quidditch at my old school," I said smiling.

"Puddlemere United. His entire team is here. They're all extremely supportive of each other," she said smiling to herself. I froze. Did she just say Puddlemere? As in, the team Oliver Wood plays for? And did she just say that the entire team is here?

"I'm sorry, did you just say the _entire_ team of Puddlemere United is here?" I asked politely not looking back at her.

"Yes, yes. Everybody is here. You're welcome to dance with them if you'd like. They're all quite good-looking. Not that, you know, I would cheat on my husband or anything," she looked at me innocently. I was sure she would. She looked like the kind of girl who would bang up every guy first and then choose to settle down. We said our goodbyes for the night after I had my interview and I got up to walk around and check out the area.

I was drinking champagne and looking up at the ceiling where there was a rather large picture of the happy couple together. There was a small tap on my shoulder and a long time familiar voice spoke behind me. "Well, well. If it isn't Miss Katie Bell." I turned around and stared and completely froze. In front of me was my old quidditch captain. In front of me was my old crush back at Hogwarts. In front of me was the guy that I had stopped talking to after he had graduated.

"Oliver Wood," I said. He chuckled.

"Yea. And I presume you are still Katie Bell… unless…" he paused and waited for an answer. I couldn't stop staring at him. His eyes, his hair, his adorable tuxedo, his shiny shoes, the way his hair was slightly still messy- a little bit of the returning boyishness, the way his eyes seemed to sparkle as he stared down at me. I was only vaguely aware that he was asking me a question as I ogled at him some more, unable to speak, looking much like a retard.

"Katie? Are you alright?"

"Whaat? Oh, yea. I'm fine. No, no, I'm not… you know, married or anything. You?"

"No. No, not at all."

"Oh. I see. I mean, you know. Not that that's bad or anything, just, you know."

"Yes. I know," he said grinning down at me. The band suddenly struck a chord and the familiar tune of a muggle song began to play. "Dance?" he said taking my champagne flute. There was suddenly a waiter behind him and he placed it there taking my hand that, only seconds ago, was holding the flute. I had no words so I put my hand in his and followed him to the floor.

"How have you been, Katie?" he whispered in my ear as we slow danced to the song. I was distantly aware of people staring at us, muttering in each other's ears, wondering how that one wedding reporter girl came to know Puddlemere's best keeper.

"I've been good, I'm a writer," I said, trying to find my words and coherency at what he was saying to me. "What about you?"

"I'm playing for Puddlemere as the keeper, as you probably know. I'm here for my friend's wedding. I wasn't planning on seeing anybody here, or even dancing, but after spotting you, I realized I have absolutely no choice but to take your hand and see how you are… you know, with life and everything," Oliver said grinning at me. I smiled back at him. After all these years, he still had that weird influence over me. The feeling that I get when I'm with him is still the same. It's that feeling that he could ask me to do absolutely anything and I would do it. Not to mention I feel totally safe in his arms as of right now. Right when we were about to talk some more, I started vibrating. He stared down at me. "You're um… thing is … vibrating," he said chuckling. Damn. I definitely have to find a better place to put my phone.

"I'm sorry, I have to leave, I'll be back in a little bit," I said nervously as I walked out of his arms. He just stared at me.

"What are you, Cinderella? I just got to see you again, Katie," he said, looking slightly hurt.

"I know, I know, it's just… I have to go," I said as I walked out of the reception area. I couldn't tell him. I just couldn't tell him that my job was a wedding journalist and I had to write cheesy lines about falling in love and perfect weddings. It was far too embarrassing. On my way 

out, I saw the bride and groom furiously making out underneath the magical waterfall (where magical things are supposed to happen) and I walked out, expecting to return in about an hour.

The hour at Luna's lasted even longer. I had expected to stay for only 45 minutes long- that was long enough for me to get pictures and to get enough details to go back and see Oliver, but Luna and Neville pleaded for me to stay longer and watch the creatures eat another 40 pounds of meat. I kept looking at my phone, this time safe in my hand, wondering if there was any way Oliver would be gone. I was unsure. Finally, FINALLY, after almost two hours, the creatures were done eating, and I was free to leave. I quickly said bye to Luna and Neville, wishing them luck and headed back into Stanley's cab.

"Back again?" he asked. I nodded my head, changing once more. This time, he didn't peak.

"Look, is there any way you can get there faster?" I asked him looking at the clock on the dashboard. I was still hoping Oliver would be there. Stanley looked at me expectantly. "Fine, 10 more galleons." All of the sudden, the speed dial went up to 80 miles and I was instantaneously thrown across the seat, my half put on shoe flying towards Stanley's head.

"OW!" he said as he swerved a little off the road.

"Sorry! Sorry!" I apologized as I straightened up. I reached the shoe and apologized again.

I reached for the door the moment it came in front of the building and rushed out. The wedding was still going on and I looked everywhere for Oliver. I still couldn't find him.

"Katie, you're back! I was wondering where you were!" Isabella said behind me as she and her husband, hand in hand, walked towards me. Although both of their heads were slightly disheveled, both of them had done a fairly good job of hiding their little magic session behind the waterfall.

"I was just around, taking some pictures," I said smiling at them. "I was wondering if the two of you have seen Oliver Wood, actually? He's kind of an old childhood friend." Isabella's eyes grew wide.

"Oh, you were dancing with him earlier, weren't you? I'm sorry, but he left. He said something about being tired and having a busy day tomorrow. Sorry, hun," she said apologetically. My head dropped. I knew it. He probably thought I had another date. Or that I ditched on him, not really wanting to talk to him, or something like that. I thanked them and said that I would be around for only a bit longer and take some pictures, but in reality, the moment 

they turned around, I walked out towards the exit. I wasn't really up for any more of the so called "magical night" after this.

So what do you think? Comment, please and tell me! I know it was a little slow towards the middle, but I was just laying out the plot, so please comment and tell me what you think! Thanks, and I'll try to update ASAP. –Luxe.


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